Angela Aki's debut album, Home, displayed some talent but was plagued by the extreme monotony of its songwriting, and thankfully on its follow-up, Today, she corrected the mistakes.

Aki didn't abandon her main stylistic approach -- these are still sentimental, piano-centered songs with backup strings and a lot of her strong and pleasant voice -- but this time the dynamics are present at a sufficient level to keep the album from becoming a quagmire of sweetness akin to a Julia Roberts movie marathon accompanied by a lot of chocolate.

It's even possible that Aki is already blaming herself for not realizing sooner how much her songs benefit from an active rhythm section, a faster tempo, and a dash of rock guitar, as evidenced by "Today" and "On & On." She doesn't even have to fear the fact that those tracks bring her into the realm of Japanese female pop/rock populated by Yui and Shimokawa Mikuni, because the fleshed-out arrangements here put her in a more favorable light compared to her rivals -- simply put, she's better.

Of course, a number of traditional slow Aki classics ("Ai No Uta," "Silent Girl") are here, but they sound more inspired, and the faster songs don't seem like just an obligation imposed by producers, either -- Today is a rather upbeat album, with tracks like "Moral No Soushiki" and "Otome Gokoro" finally putting that Tori Amos influence to good use and balancing the proper ballads in just the right way to make a really strong record.